Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

Pedal power

Fancy a smoothie? Better get pedalling! In some parts of Guatamala there’s only sporadic power and so regular electric appliances aren’t much use. The Maya Pedal organization has the answer: They’ve found a way to power blenders, water pumps and soon perhaps even washing machines.

Cheesy

Fossa, a sweetly pungent cheese from Sogliano near Rimini, matures in pits. Legend has it that the townfolk buried their cheeses to safeguard them from plundering invaders – and then discovered they tasted better than ever.

Spanish steppe cheese

Tens of thousands of merino sheep graze on the arid plains of the Extremadura. Their milk is used to produce La Serena cheese, wich owes its somewhat bitter flavor to the thistle-based vegetable rennet used in its production.

Norwegian world champion

Fanaost, winner of the World Cheese Awards 2018, is a gouda made near Bergen using the milk of only 12 cows. Experts rank Norway as one of the best cheesemaking nations in the world.

Culture clash

Suffering from writer’s block and need a change of scene? Here are three magnificent houses where bestsellers were written – and you can even rent some by the day:

Goldeneye, Jamaica

Ian Fleming, a British ex-spy, wrote all 14 of his James Bond novels here in the Caribbean – and even designed the villa himself. theflemingvilla.com

Naulakha, Vermont/USA

Rudyard Kipling didn’t actually write the legendary Jungle Book in India, but in the U.S. He nicked the name of his villa there from a marble pavilion in Lahore, the still part of India. The villa sleeps eight people. landmarktrustusa.org

Royal Albion Hotel, England

Charles Dickens adored Broadstairs, a seaside resort in Kent, and spent many summers at the Royal Albion Hotel. A Dickens Festival is being held here in his honor from 21 through 23 June. albionbroadstairs.co.uk

Walk back in time

The Great Himalaya Trail, Silk Road, Way of St. Jacob: The guidebook 500 Walks covers the oldest long-distance trails and walks around the world. An ideal companion for all avid hikers, it provides detailed routes and plenty of entertaining facts.